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Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Highlanders are revolting!
This was a game Mike and I played to work the bugs out of our homemade Jacobite Rebellion rules titled It's A Kilt!If It Was A Skirt I'd Be Wearing Underpants! The year is 17 something something and Red Dougie MacArdo has raised the standard of one of the lesser known Stuarts, cousin Larry Stuart. Really just an excuse to descend on the Sassanach and steal their cattle. In support of this effort MacArdo has been joined by four clan regiments; Corrie, Appin, MacLeod and Atholl. The King of France has sent a battalion of the Irish Regiment of McLaughlin as a way of getting them out of France before they do any more damage.

The McLaughlin Regiment, chastened by their deployment, advances alongside the Jacobites
The Government troops sent to face them are a half battalion from each of the four regiments in the garrison and the converged grenadier companies from those regiments. The Government force also has a battery of 3 lb guns.

Red Dougie scouts the advancing column of Government troopsAs the Government column passed through the crossroads hard by Glen Herring the Highlanders sprang their ambush. Coolly surveying the situation the commander of the redcoats, Sir Gary Comardo (of the Bogglehole Comardos) ordered his units to deploy into line facing the onrushing plaid tide.

Claymore! Claymore!

Two of the raw redcoat battalions broke and ran at the unaccustomed sight of the charging highlanders, but the others stood firm and poured heavy fire into the close packed ranks of their foes. The Jacobites recoiled from the Government line without coming to grips and the broken battalions rallied brnging the battle to a swift conclusion.

Stop firing at us and fight us like men!

This was the second battle we have fought using these rules. The first one was a near run thing but this one was very lopsided. Clearly we have more work to do on the rules. What we are going for is a situation where the Government forces have an advantage in firepower and the Jacobites in speed and melee. The Government troops also have to test their nerve when being charged. Most of the redcoats are second class units, the good stuff being away fighting the French on the Continent. We'll keep tinkering with the rules and know we have it right when both commanders play to their strong suit and are kept in suspense until the last die roll of the last turn.